Infinite Stratos: Phoenix
by zeke9051
Summary: The surprising survival of Zeke has everyone on their toes about him. But everyone, even Tabane, want to know about one thing. What is Zeke's IS? And where'd it come from?
1. The Return, Heated Payback And The Gang

_Zeke's POV_

When I opened my eyes, {Light}, wasn't {Light} _._ Instead of a bodysuit look, it had stripped the helmet, most of the leg armor and the stomach armor off and had grown wings. Instead of the small, blocky, ugly wings usually found on most IS, these were large, thin, streamlined wings. They were similar to the {Silvario's Second Shift's} wings, but solid. Instead of black or green, the colors that greeted me were fire orange and dark blue. Both similar to Charlotte's {Revive} and Ichika's {Byakushiki} _._

"Keiko." I mumbled, looking around before catching sight of a white glint and I made my way towards it. I found Gospel's distinctive white angel form. And safely inside, my daughter. Keiko. I grabbed her in my arms and gained some altitude before catching sight of the gang and, "Char." I whispered, noticing Rin and Laura talking in the group. Char was on the ground, apparently distraught.

 _"Never let the enemy see you at your weakest."_ The words passed through my head.

"Stand up, Charlotte." I called, starting to return to the ground. She almost looked at me, but shook her head. I frowned.

"Stand up, Charlotte." I called again. She shook her head again. _Already in denial._ I thought as I landed and started walking towards the gang.

"Stand up, Charlotte. Don't bow to these glorified cowards. You're better than that." I called, subconsciously gesturing to our attackers. Laura placed herself between Char and me, lowering her {Railgun} at me.

"Who are you? What is your purpose?" She called. I saw Rin spin her scimitars. Houki and Ichika didn't seem sure what to do. I stopped when Laura's questions reached me.

"Who am I? I'm not sure anymore. My purpose, that's a good question. I'll have to talk to Tabane later about that." I replied, starting towards the gang again. As I stepped out of the dust and dirt cloud, I answered.

"All I know is, I'm seriously pissed off." I grinned, walking past Laura and kneeling before Charlotte. I set Keiko between us and went to set a hand on her shoulder, but stopped myself before I did and I stood again and looked up at the still Task members above us.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for some payback. Who's with me?" I asked, spreading my wings to their full size and summoning two weapons to my hands.

"How? How did you survive that?" The leader stuttered. I shrugged.

"Not as hard as it looks. Especially considering I'd just activated {First Shift} as your attacks landed. It saved me from the damage and allowed me to boost my synchronization with my IS. Everyone, I'd like you to meet {Phoenix}." I said, flaring my new wings before thrusting them downwards and taking to the air.

"After him! Don't let him escape!" The leader yelled, motioning to a group of her soldiers. The squad leader nodded before they took off. I rushed straight up, stopping just under the cloud cover. "Everyone else, Finish off the others!"

I looked down and watched the squad of Task members climbed to meet me. I also watched the rest of the units rush my friends who had formed a protective circle around Charlotte and Keiko. I flicked my wrist and summoned a revolver style pistol. I reached behind me and grabbed a sword from my back, swinging it in front of me before pointing my revolver downwards.

"Anyone that wants to back down now can disappear now. This is a one-time offer." I said over an open channel. A few IS faltered in their climb, but none left.

"So be it." I answered, returning my revolver and taking the sword in both hands before rushing towards the squad headed my way with a battle cry.

 _Back on the ground..._

Zeke's battle cry reached the ears of our severely outnumbered friends protecting Charlotte and Keiko. They looked up, seeing Zeke clash with the first of his opponents and send them racing towards the ground, unconscious. As said IS crashed on the ground, they looked back to their opponents and rushed into battle with cries of their own. Laura claimed the first casualty with a shot from her {Railgun}. The massive slug impacted a lightweight Spanish 4th gen and sent said IS through their compatriots. The unorthodox projectile created an opening for Rin to push through the enemy ranks and she began attacking in the center of the enemy ranks. Houki was quickly covering her back with { _Akatsubaki's_ } special attack. Hundreds of red lasers pushed their attackers back, before being followed by { _Karaware's_ } special wave attack. It sent several IS into standby, but their forms were quickly blocked from view and they were dragged by comrades to safety. Ichika used { _Setsura's_ } {Particle Cannon} to pick off any IS foolish enough to gain altitude while swinging { _Yukihira_ } in its standby form to block whatever attacks came his way. And yet, they were slowly being overwhelmed.

"I'm getting low on energy!" Ichika said, firing at another IS. It soon fell to the ground, knocking over a couple more IS.

"Retreat to Laura. I'll be right there." Houki replied, jumping over a horizontal slash from a Japanese 4th gen. While similar to {Akatsubaki}, it didn't have the firepower that Houki's IS boasted, or its energy restoring One-Off Ability, {Kenran Buto.} Rin activated her {Ryuhou} shock cannons and covered her rear as Houki disengaged and flew to her husband. Laura's {Railgun} continued to pound any IS it set its sights on while Laura used her {Beam Sabers} and held off her CQC attackers before blasting them away with her {Railgun}. Charlotte was still in shock and hadn't moved this entire ordeal. Keiko, was just waking up.

 _Keiko's POV..._

"Ow. Did someone get the number on the train that hit me?" I asked sarcastically, gripping my head in my hands before I was deafened by cannon fire. My ears rang and I covered my ears, eyes wide as I looked upon the battlefield before me. _CLANG! CHA-CHING, BOOM!_ The cannon fired again as I watched two shells the size of my head bounce off of the arena floor. I looked up to see a silver-haired woman in a Black quadruped IS with a _massive_ cannon on her shoulder held another IS at bay before firing point blank into the IS's face with their cannon. I clenched my hands tighter around my ears as the deafening sound washed over me. _CLANG! CHA-CHING._ Another shell fell near me and bounced off the floor, joining its companions in the pile of other spent shells.

"Come on! Is that the best you can do?!" The woman's yelling startled me and I looked up as she entered another bind with two IS simultaneously. The cannon lined up on one of the IS and fired. _BOOM!_ Her freed sword crashed into the other IS and the IS backed off. _CLANG! CHA-CHING._

"Hey Keiko! Over here!" I heard someone call and I looked behind me to see Houki and Ichika behind me along with mom.

"Houki! Ichika! What's going on?" I asked, walking over. I looked down and noticed that {Gospel} was still covering me.

"Phantom Task attacked the Academy. We were about to be taken when your dad attacked them and ended up going into {First Shift} with his IS. He's up there right now handling some of the other Task members. We've been down here protecting you and your mother." Ichika explained, glowing slightly gold. Houki was as well.

"What are you two doing?" I asked, curious.

"I'm using one of my IS's abilities to recharge Ichika's IS." Houki explained. I nodded before my body moved and blocked a sword swing from an IS and the wings blew away the attacker. I froze in my position before {Gospel's} avatar popped up in my vision.

 _"While I'd prefer you to be safe somewhere, they need us out here. Can you do it?"_ She asked me. I looked at her before straightening my posture and the 'angel' wings unfurled from my back. While still primarily white, {Gospel} had been adjusting to my preferences slowly but surely. That included taste in color. Her wings were striped through the feathers with blue. They looked like veins in bird wings. The wings were the same my dad had from when he piloted {Gospel,} but instead of metal. They were energy wings. Her body armor was similarly colored, white with blue stripes running throughout. I looked up at my dad, orange and blue IS blazing in the darkening sky as he fended off attack after attack. I watched as he sent another pilot plummeting from the aerial battle. I looked back to {Gospel's} avatar to see her smiling.

"What?" I asked, smiling as well.

 _"Let's show 'em what happens when they mess with our home."_ She answered. We both nodded before taking to the skies with an explosive thruster burst.

"{Gospel} to all Academy personnel. Clear the area, I'm rolling out the red carpet." I said, grinning. I heard cheers in reply before an IS burst through the enemy ranks and slid to a stop next to the black IS and held the enemy IS back from our allies.

 _"Shall we?"_ {Gospel} asked, grinning. I grinned back before thrusting my right hand out and jumping a little higher before unleashing hell. The arena was again shrouded in dust and smoke. I landed next to Ichika and Houki again, looking towards where the enemy had been. The dust cleared and I watched as most of the enemy IS were beginning to stand back up. Basically a quarter had been wiped out in my barrage. I raised my fists, ready to fend off all comers when we heard another IS fly over.

 _"Not bad for a beginner, Keiko. Let me show ya how it's done."_ Zeke said as he circled around, wings seemingly glowing brighter as he lined up with the remaining enemy IS.

 _"I'd get behind something if I were you."_ Zeke radioed as he sent his own barrage to compliment mine. Ichika and the silver-haired girl ushered the rest of us behind them before deploying shields or focusing on any stray fire headed our way. {Gospel's} wings wrapped around me as an added layer of protection as the barrage hit. The first thing I heard when the sound died down was,

"Keiko?" Charlotte said, seeming unsure. I unwrapped my wings and looked at my mom.

"Yeah?" I asked. She went to say something, but dad landed behind me and we all stopped and looked at him. {Phoenix} returned to its standby form and he walked between Laura and Ichika, saying;

"Ichika, Houki and Rin. Go check our friends. Laura, make sure everyone inside is alright." He said. Everyone nodded before moving to do their tasks.

"Keiko. Nice job out there." He said, smiling at me as he directed me towards Charlotte.

"Thanks dad!" I replied, hugging him from the side. {Gospel} had released me and was standing guard behind us.

 _Zeke's POV..._

I walked towards Charlotte, Keiko in tow. She looked at me as if she'd seen a ghost. _Guess I'll need to stop dying so much._ I thought. I kneeled down in front of Char and she reached out a hand, hesitating before touching my face. Her other hand joined her first and she pulled me in and kissed me. I wrapped her in my arms and hugged her, returning the kiss. She pulled away and I looked down at her, not seeing the hand before my head was forcefully turned to the right. And my cheek stung.

"You ass! You had me worried sick! What were you thinking chancing a {First Shift} like that?! Ichika did it, yes! But he got lucky as well!" She yelled, tears streaming down her face. I turned my head back to her, looking back at her with tears of my own.

"I had no other choice. If I'd had another choice, I'd have taken it. I'm not going to even try to justify what I did. I barely knew what I was doing before I started talking to you. I never knew it would affect you like this though. I'm sorry." I apologized, looking down at my feet at the end of my speech.

"You idiot." Charlotte muttered, hugging me. I sat down and pulled her onto my lap. Keiko sat next to us and we pulled her into the hug.

 _"All personnel in the building are alright. A little shaken with some minor injuries, but nothing severe."_ Laura reported.

 _"All threats disabled. We're safe for now."_ Rin chimed in.

 _"I'm not getting any energy readings here."_ Houki added.

 _"I've got one over here. And she's willing to talk."_ Ichika said.

"Everyone meet up with Ichika. We'll be right there." I replied. The three of us stood and Keiko stepped back into {Gospel} while Char and I summoned our IS.

 _"{Second Shift} Available. Would you like to begin activation?"_ I heard as Charlotte looked at her HUD in shock.

"Well, what do you know?" I teased. She just kept looking at the notification.

"We'll deal with that in a bit, come on. Ichika found a live one. And she's ready to sing." I said, patting Char's shoulder and the three of us made our way towards Ichika. The first thing Charlotte and I ended up saying when we caught sight of our captive was,

"Cecilia?!"


	2. You Were What!

_Previously..._

 _The first thing Charlotte and I were able to say when we saw our captive was;_

 _"Cecilia?!"_

 _And now to our story..._

"Cecilia?!" Charlotte and I exclaimed.

"What are you doing here? And with Phantom Task!" Charlotte yelled simultaneously with me as I yelled;

"What are you doing here?! You're three days early!" I yelled, drawing everyone's gaze.

"What do you mean, she's early?" Rin said, a creepy tone in her voice.

*sigh* "I contacted her earlier to try and get her on board with the rest of us. She said she had a mission coming up in Britain and wouldn't be able to meet with us till after the mission. When she was finished, she contacted me to let me know she would be making her way to the US. Back to what I said earlier, she's three days earlier than she said she would be arriving. The Phantom Task arrival wasn't planned, don't worry." I placated/explained to everyone. They questioned the both of us a bit more before we all made our way into the Academy proper.

"Cecilia Alcott, welcome to HQ." I said, waving a hand around as if to showcase the room. We were above the main room, overlooking the rows and rows of people searching through the Worldwide Web.

"Hey! Anyone got anything on the message the news played earlier? Or where the attackers came from?" I shouted. No replies were returned and we made our way into the board room.

"Sorry about the mess. We didn't get the chance to roll out the red carpet, Miss Alcott." I teased, sitting down at the head of the table. Keiko and Rin snorted as they sat down while Charlotte and Ichika have me a smirk. Cecilia gave a small smile as she sat down as well.

"I'll overlook it this time, but you'd better be ready next time." She replied.

"In our defense, you're early." I retorted before we all went serious.

We discussed the battle that had just taken place not 10 minutes ago. After a little while, Laura looked me up and down since I had stood during the talks.

"Speaking of the battle earlier. Did you not get injured when that debris fell? We all did." She said, gesturing to the room occupants, minus Cecilia. I looked over everyone and noticed their injuries. Ichika had bruises visible near his neck and it seemed to run farther down under his shirt. Houki was favoring her left arm, which was resting against her stomach. Laura herself had a bump about the size of her fist on the top of her head. Rin was breathing carefully. Charlotte was rubbing her side with a small grimace on her face and Keiko was rubbing her head and shaking it every now and then and I paged some medical personnel to the room. I gave myself a once over look before moving my limbs. Nothing.

"Actually, I'm perfectly fine." I said, moving around to double check myself.

"How? You were buried even farther than we were. Not to mention your {First Shift} stunt before we ran Phantom Task off." Rin questioned, before holding her chest in pain. The medics walked in and started to tend to everyone as I waved off those who came to check me.

"I... don't know. You're right, Rin. I should be unconscious in the Med Ward after what happened, but there isn't a single thing wrong."

"Well, I wouldn't say nothing." Ichika said. I nodded.

"You're talking about just before my {First Shift}, right?" I clarified, looking at the ground. Ichika just nodded.

"Yeah! What was that? It was awesome!" Rin said from behind a Medic. The medics stepped away and we all saw her ribs had been bandaged, but she had a big grin on her face.

"I wouldn't say it was awesome, but it was impressive." Laura spoke up. She was holding an ice pack to her head.

"But it wasn't like you." Ichika and Houki said simultaneously. Charlotte just nodded while Keiko looked confused. I leaned on the table before I let out a breath and sat back down.

"You're right. It wasn't like me, in fact. It wasn't me at all." I said, looking out at the data center through the windows.

"What do you mean by that?" Houki pressured. I looked her in the eye from across the table as I said.

"I wasn't in control of myself right after the crash. My IS, its A.I took hold and started running crazy. I was only able to get control when Char brought me back to reality." I said.

"But didn't the machines say that your IS didn't have a core when we scanned it?" Char asked, reminding me of that day in the lab.

"Yeah. It did. Which is why I'm so confused at the moment. I'd like you all to meet a friend of mine. He's a little shy, but he helped me get back in control earlier. Theta?" I asked, before I caught sight of a small orange glow next to my head.

"Hi." He murmured, just loud enough that the room could hear him. The room was quiet after Theta's introduction. Then...

"Hi little glowing person I've never met before!" A woman in a cosplay outfit replied from the doorway.


	3. Time To Disappear!

"I was wondering when you'd show up." I replied, sitting back down.

"I was headed this way when Chloe showed me the newscast and your defense of the Academy." Tabane replied, walking further into the room and sitting down herself. I smirked and shook my head. Houki and Ichika greeted Tabane while the rest of the room looked on.

"Wait! You're Tabane Shinonono, the creator of the IS?" Keiko exclaimed. The rest of us had a good laugh at that, as we were used to Tabane's antics.

"Yeah Kei. This is _the_ Tabane Shinonono, child genius and inventor of the IS. Tabane, my daughter, Keiko." I said, making introductions with a wave of my hands.

"Ahh, I've been meaning to meet you Keiko. I'm interested to do some tests with your DNA. Since you are the first and currently only child of whom both parents are IS compatible." Tabane said, a somewhat creepy smile on her face. Keiko gave her an uneasy smile.

"We'll see, Tabane. But let's get back to what we were talking about. Theta? Shall we explain a few things?" I asked, glancing at the little A.I. on my shoulder. Theta nodded back and we both looked at the rest of the room.

"Ask away." We said.

 _A while later and many lengthy explanations later..._

"So basically, I've got some psychotic core somewhere inside me that can act as a pilot in extreme cases and Theta was put in as a precaution against any hostile actions the core would take. Did I miss anything?" I clarified before asking. Tabane shook her head, as well as most of the rest of the room. Laura raised her hand though. "Yes, Laura?"

"Where did you get the IS to begin with?" She asked, returning her arm to the slipping ice pack on her head. I sighed and glanced at Char before leaning back in my chair.

"Have you ever seen the 'other side' Laura? One other person in this room has that I know of." I replied with question, glancing at Ichika. He was looking at me with a knowing look. Laura, confused by my reply, shrugged.

"I can't answer that without knowing what you mean by 'the other side'..." She started before Ichika spoke up.

"He means Death, Laura. That is the other side he's referring too." He clarified, looking at me before down at his lap. Houki took one of his hands in hers comfortingly. I gave Char a loving smile before looking at Laura.

"Both Ichika and I have clinically died in our lifetimes. He died during a school outing defending everyone. I died, defending Charlotte from her own father while on the run. Both times, we came back. Unhurt and better than before. Ichika's _Byakushiki_ gained small upgrades. I gained a brand new suit that will never fall behind in the tech race." I paused. "While this seems like someone crazy talking, our deaths made us stronger. I don't recommend trying this method for yourselves. Besides coming back alive with better tech, we've both met someone on that side as well." I said, stopping so that everyone could process this new information before dropping the big bomb.

"Who'd you meet? God? A deity of some kind?" Cecilia was the first to start spewing questions. I locked eyes with Ichika before asking him, "WK, right?" He nodded.

"Besides Tabane, who knows about _Shirokishi_ , also known as the White Knight?" I asked, looking at the rest of the room.

"Outside of the story behind it during the Shirokishi incident after the initial unveiling, not much." Rin spoke first this time. The rest of the room nodded in agreement with her, except for Keiko.

"Who was the White Knight?" She asked, looking between Tabane, Ichika and I. Ichika and I looked at Tabane for this one.

"No one but myself knows the true identity of the White Knight. It was requested of me to not disclose their identity without their permission. The _Shirokishi_ , or White Knight as it is also known as. It was the first IS ever created. Most of today's IS platforms are based off of it, albeit loosely. The 'incident' Rin mentioned was what made the IS known as it is today. All at once, several of the major nations were simultaneously hacked and launched thousands of missiles targeted at Japan. The White Knight was able to intercept and destroy all of them before disappearing and never reappearing again." Tabane explained.

"Ichika and I have met this 'White Knight' after we've died. If I'm right, it would appear and ask us if we'd want power. If we accepted, it would ask us our reasoning for wanting the power." At this, Ichika nodded in agreement and I nodded as well before continuing. "We've both used the power given to us to protect and defend those most important to us and the masses in general. This was our reason for wanting the power offered to us by this 'White Knight.' My power came at a heavier cost than Ichika's." I said, peeling the sleeve from my mechanical arm.

"I've had the most contact with the Knight. I believe the reason I'm seeing it more frequently is because _Byakushiki's_ core is closer to the Knight's Core than others. While Zeke has had the most contact with his Core's, he has had less contact with the Knight than I." Ichika added. I couldn't help but agree with his reasoning, it was sound.

"That seems logical. What Core did you use for _Byakushiki_ anyway Tabane? I know #005 was in _Proto_. #009 is _Gospel's_. I'm still unsure which Core is in _Phoenix_ , but it seems older somehow." I mentioned, a thoughtful face coming over Tabane and I's face at the last sentence. "What would you need to figure out which Core _Phoenix_ has? I know I'm a unique case due to my state with this Core. So be careful please." I asked.

"I used a special Core in _Byakushiki_. It was one of the Original 10 Cores that I created. It showed a lot of promise like its siblings, but it was unique even from them. It had started to generate more energy and splitting it away from itself." She said, answering my earlier question.

"That's probably where _Setsura_ came from." Ichika blurted suddenly. Tabane just nodded.

"Core #002 was the most unique I had ever seen. It is the only one I know to have created a smaller Core to assist it while helping it grow into its own Core. So, Ichika. Your IS is even more unique. It has more than one Core." Tabane said, grinning at Ichika.

"And this is why I brought us to this room. Gospel, if you please." I said. Keiko's necklace glowed for a second before the windows looking out over the data center dimmed along with the rest of the room while the table in the center of us glowed and powered up. "If all IS with sentient AI would please display your avatars on the table please. We'll begin this discussion in earnest." I requested of the IS in the room. One by one, avatars began popping up on the table. First was _Gospel,_ followedby _Proto_ and _Theta._ Two more that I guessed to be _Byakushiki_ and _Setsura_ were next, followed by two unknowns.

"Who are they? I don't recognize them." Charlotte asked, looking at the two unknown avatars. I looked over one of the two avatars before a grin broke out on his face and mine.

"You should Charl. One of them is _Revive_ after all. The other, I'm not sure." I said, glancing at the latter. She looked back at me with a small fire in her eye and a small smirk. "Scratch that, I figured out who it is." I added.

"Who is who then?" Laura asked. The rest of the room nodded their agreement to her question. I glanced at Tabane to see her smiling at the avatars in what seemed almost, motherly.

"Let's just have them introduce themselves then. So we have an idea of who is who. We'll start with her. Your name and Number will be enough unless you'd like to add more." I requested. The highlighted avatar looked around at the other avatars before 'walking' to the center of the table and speaking.

"I am _Akatsubaki_ , Core #007. Nice to make your acquaintance face to face, Houki." _Akatsubaki_ greeted her pilot. Houki was understandably shocked.

"Next, whichever of you wants to go?" I asked, waving a hand at the remaining avatars. I watched as _Gospel_ stepped up next.

"I am _Gospel_ , Core #009. Nice to see everyone again." _Gospel_ said before stepping back in front of Keiko. Proto was the next to step up.

"I am _Digital Prototype_ , Core #005. I am also known as _Proto_. Nice to meet you all." He said before stepping back. A younger looking avatar stepped forward, shadowed by an older looking one behind it.

"I am _Setsura_ , and this is _Byakushiki_. And I am Core #002.5. She is #002. We are glad to make your acquaintance." _Setsura_ said, before the two of them bowed. The rest of us bowed out of courtesy and the duo stepped back to Ichika. The remaining avatar looked up before stepping forward and turning to face Charlotte, who was surprised to say the least.

"I am _Raphael Revive Custom II_ , or just _Revive_. I am Core #006. Nice to finally greet you, my pilot." _Revive_ said, bowing regally to Charlotte. She nodded silently before watching him step back to stand in front of her. _Revive_ and I shared a smirk before I looked around.

"Are there any others that would like to reveal themselves? It's alright if you'd rather not." I asked, glancing at Tabane who glanced around. The rest of the room watched as three more avatars popped up. "And the rest of them showed up. If you'd introduce yourselves, please." I asked. They looked at me before nodding and as one, all three stepped forward.

"I am _Shen Long_ , Core #008. Nice to meet you." A petite Chinese looking girl said before stepping back and looking at Rin.

"I am _Schwarzer Regen_ , Core #004. That's all." She said before stepping back and standing at attention facing Laura. Ichika, Charlotte and I snorted at how similar they were.

"And I'm _Blue Tears_ , Core #010 nice to meet you all." The remaining avatar greeted before giving the peace sign and sitting in front of Cecilia, who had a horrified face. Rin and I were trying our hardest not to laugh. Well, _I_ was. Rin, not so much.

"And I'm _Theta_ , sub-program of Core #000. Pleased to meet you." _Theta_ said, looking up at me as if looking for confirmation. I nodded at him.

"Oh please. No need to be so formal with these _humans_. I still don't know why you'd want to pair yourself with one of them. I'm _Phoenix_ , Core #000's AI." _Phoenix_ said mockingly as he walked out from behind _Theta_ and looked around at the gathered pilots.

"#000. Nice to see you again. Still being a downer I see." Tabane greeted in a monotone way. Z looked at Tabane with disdain apparent.

"Creator. Still meddling in others affairs I see." He replied similarly. The other avatars just sighed before ignoring _Phoenix_ and beginning the chat with their pilots. Cecilia was trying to understand how her IS was so informal, much to Rin and _Shen Long's_ amusement. Ichika and Houki were sitting together and chatted with their IS and each other's.  
Char was starting to figure everything out with _Revive_ while _Gospel_ and Keiko were talking animatedly about something. Laura and _Regen_ were discussing something that both were apparently passionate about since _Regen_ wasn't as rigid as before. _Theta_ , _Phoenix_ and I were looking at each other and were soon joined by Tabane.

"So, why have the IS reveal themselves now? It doesn't make sense." Tabane whispered. _Phoenix_ snorted and _Theta_ shot a look at him. I didn't reply for a beat before replying while watching the room.

"Tabane. Do you have somewhere we can lay low for a while? Preferably somewhere we could run ops and have enough supplies to shack up for a while." I asked, watching as Charlotte and Keiko started discussing something with their IS together. Houki and Ichika were surprised by something _Byakushiki_ had said. Laura and _Regen_ were still discussing something and Rin and _Shen Long_ were openly laughing at Cecilia now. _Phoenix_ and _Theta_ gave me surprised looks as o finished my question. Tabane looked thoughtful for a second before replying.

"I've got the perfect place."

"If you have anyone you want to contact, do so after this meeting. Family, loved ones, etc. Just not your respective governments." I said.

"And why would we be doing that?" Cecilia asked.

"Because we're going underground and disappearing for a while. Tabane has offered to let us use one of her facilities and we'll be heading there after any preparations that need to be made. The reason for not contacting your governments, we don't know whether they're compromised or not. So I'd like to err on the side of caution." Ichika, Laura and Rin all raised their hands.

"Ichika. If it's your sister, Tabane is already taking care of it." I immediately answered and he lowered his hand. "Rin, go ahead. You too Laura. Let's do this quickly and quietly. We need to disappear and seem like we never made it out. Let me know what needs to happen to secure family and such before we head out and we'll pick them up on the way." I answered and both girls opened their phones and rapidly punched in numbers before talking in hushed tones. Everyone else started making preparations between themselves and Charlotte and Keiko walked up to me.

"What are we going to do?" Keiko asked.

"I'll have _Gospel_ go through all our records and remove any trails we could leave. We'll stop by the apartment and grab any sentimental items we still need to. We can replace clothes and such at a later date if need be. I'm sure Ichika and Houki will be too. We'll pack everything in our IS quantum storage for the trip and disappear for a while. After a while, we'll start repaying Phantom Task for today and any other day we may need too." I answered.

"What about school for Keiko?" Charlotte asked. I caught a frown from Keiko out of the corner of my eye.

"She's a smart girl. And if it'd make you feel better, I'm sure Tabane wouldn't mind teaching her a thing or two." I said, glancing at said genius. She flashed us a smile.

"And money?" Charlotte asked.

"Empty everything we can into cash or checks. We'll exchange what we need too and keep the rest locked up safe." I replied. _Gospel_ had already started retracing any trails and destroying them. While she was doing that, _Proto_ and _Revive_ were moving money and accounts around to ease that process.

"Everyone ready to start the process?" I asked. I got varying motions of acknowledgement and we separated after Tabane sent us the coordinates we'd need.

"Alright everyone, let's move!" I announced and the board room returned to normal and we vanished from the Academy.


	4. Author

Hey All! I've been struggling to push my series forward and I read over my earlier works and realized I lost focus and plot after Secrets of the Gospel. Sooooo, I'm going to discontinue this arc of the series and start a rewrite. Sorry if this puts anyone in a bad mood but this is making me upset at my own lack of updates, so yeah. I will be uploading the edited versions under new names, but there will be a hint of which is which in the story description.


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